Top for vehicles and the like



F. K. LEWIS.

TOP FOB VEHICLES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-1| 19I8.

Patented Sept. 14,1920.

jiw/f/Qmz 77 661, A? Lew/6 3y v%f, r flTTQ/ENEYQ principle, so as UNITED STATES ATE T; ornc VFREIDERFICK 'K.. LEWIS, oF ASHTABTJ'LA, OHIO, AssIG oia To AsiITAB' iia 30w socxnr COMPANY, or AsH'rABULa, cure, a conroBArrIoN' or OH O;

T01? ron VEHICLES AND THE LIKE.

; Application filed o tob r 1:, 191 s. 'seriarm. 256,442.

To all whom it may 007mm.-

'Be it known that I, FREDERIoK'K; Lewis, a cltizen of the United States, and a resident of Ashtabula, county of Ashtabula, and

State of Ohio, have invented a new and K useful Improvement in Tops for Vehicles 1 top supporting structure embodying my present'improvements, such top being shown and the like, of which the following is a specification, the principle of the inventlon being herein explained and the best mode in which I have contemplated applying. that I to distinguish it from other inventions. w

In most tops of'the S0-Cflll9Cl 0I1 fII12tn type, such as are now used extensively on automobiles, the extreme forward or outrigger bow, as it is called, is carried by means of swinging arms pivotally attached to the main bow at some distance from-the point of pivotal attachment of the latter to the vehicle body, so that such arms,"with such outrigger bow extending substantially horizontally in the open position of the top, together constitute what may be termed an articulated outrigger bow. Toeach of these arms, or the rear portions of such articulated outrigger bow, there is in turn usually attached an intermediate or supplemental how, the function of which is to support the stretch of cover material betweenthe main bow and the outrigger bow proper. One of the problems in the construction of tops of this sort is to so interconnect the three bows in question that such supplemental bow. will be held in proper position in the open condition of the top under the cover load, as well as be folded in unison with the main and outrigger bows, when the top is being closed. The object of the present invention accordingly is to provide, by means of a novel, arrangement of links, for the support and operation of such supplemental bow, as well as at the same time to assist supporting the outrigger bow. A' further object is'to provide means of this sort which maybe readily constructed and assembled, allow ing for a certain desirable latitude in the adjustment'of the position of the supplemental bow.

With the foregoing and related ends in view, the invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims, the an-' neXed drawing and the following descrip- Specification of Letters Patent, Pai -43 1 36 S 1; 14 192 0 nism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but several of the various mechanical formsinwhich the principle-ofthe invention may be used.-

In-jsaid annexed drawing Figure 1 is 'a slde elevational view of'a as mounted on an automoble body of conmeans operatively connecting the same together, which are of present interest; Fig. 3 1s a view simllar to that of Fig. 2, but showa' modified construction of the means'thus connecting them'ain, supplemental and out rigger' bows; Fig. isa View similar to Fig. 2, but showing still another modified form of construction; and P illustrates a detail inthe latter.

It is of course a'matter of indifference whether the top is 'used on anautomobile, 3

motorboat or otherwise, and, depending upon its longitudinal'jextent, a smaller or larger number ofbows, 1n 2t(lCl11J1OIl'tO=thG outrigger structure of present' interest, may

be utilized; thus in the construction. illus- 'trated in Figl'l, in 1 addition to? the forwardly inclined main bow 1 pivotally at tached to the body '2 of the vehicle adjacentv the rear seat of the latter, I show a rear tached to such forward main 'bow' near its lower end, as'w'ell asa supplemental how 4 shown as attached 'to said main bow 1 approximately midway between ,its ends; It

- main bow 3 that is preferably 'pivotally 'atwill be understood that in certain cases it' may be more convenient to attach this intermediate bow to the rear main bow 3. It will be also understood that the term bow is used herein 'inclusively to; designate not merely the wooden bowproper, but also the metallic sockets carrying the same, these partswhen regarded in side elevation constituting the equivalentof- 'the *socalled sticks as theyare called in the oldwood construction. It is accordingly a matter of convenience to refer to the" parts in the singular, as thoughthe structure lay all in a single'vertical plane, since the partsof interest dozactuallylieinsuch a plane.

. a re dy "in i ated, the portion of the structure of present interest is the forwardly extending frame, whereby a corresponding portion of the top covering 5,,

which'projects over the front seat, is sup- "ported. This structure, as likewise already larly to the outer portion or bow 7 proper,

which is secured to the forwardmain bow 2 by means of an arm 8 (one on each side of plemental bow 10, that in such open-con- I 12 and 13 being respectively attached to the e course) pivotally attached to said main bow and to the rear ends of such outrigger bow, and so constituting the innerportion of said articulated auxiliary bow 6, The point of attachment of this arm to the main bow is preferably in line with or just above the side edge of the cover, so as to behidden by the latter, and the joint 9 between said arm and the outrigger bow is a rule joint disposed so as to prevent further bending of the arm in question, when extended in horizontal fashion, as in the open condition of the top. V

Pivotally attached to the arm 8 is a supdition of the top is designed to extend forwardly at an angle with respect to said arm, so as to support the cover at. a point approximately midway between the main bow 1 and outrigger how 7." The means for operatively connecting this supplemental bow with said main and outrigger-bows may take on various modified forms, all coming within the broader aspect of the present invention, as illustrated in detailin *igs. 2, 3 and 4 respectively, All these forms aresimilar, in that such connecting means comprise a three-part articulated link or brace, the intermediate link 11 being pivotally attached to said supplemental bow, and the free ends of the two other links main bow at a point above the pointof pivotal attachment of the arm 8 thereto, and to the outriggerbow at a point beyond the joint 9 between the latter and said arm.

All of the joints except as hereinafter indicated are freely bending both those he tween the links themselves and those between the two longer links and the main and outrigger bows respectively, so that the intermediate linkwhich is preferably considerably shorter than the two other links,

operates in effect as a doublearm lever or equalizer bar, as will be presently more specifically set forth,

In. the construction shown in Fig. 1, the

intermediate link or equalizer bar is a ate link and the forward longer link a trifle below the line connecting the point of attachment of such last named link with the outrigger bow, and the point of attachment of the rear link with the main how. The effect of dropping the pivotal connection just referred to apparently is to render the structure more fully self-sustaining in such extended condition of the top, this effect being further augmented by disposing such forward link and its connections so that said link, in the same condition of parts, lies slightly below the joint that connects the outrigger bow with the swinging side arm. 7 v

. Instead of the intermediate link being a straight member, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it may be in the form ofa bell-crank 14, as shown in Fig, 3. There is some advantage in this form over the other in certain classes, or rather sizes, of tops, .enabling, as it does, connection between the system of links and the intermediate bow to be dropped that much lower without intermediate link 15, in which the one arm thereof, namely, the rear arm, is longer than the other. This permits the point of attachment of the longer link 16 to be shifted to the rear a corresponding amount on the main bow, without necessitating a ch ange in the length of such link. In other words,

the point of attachment in question, instead of being in front of the main bowfldirectly over the point of attachment of the corresponding side arm, may be on the side or lateralface of the main bow,'where the inclination of the latter'remains unchanged, or as shown in Fig 1, said main bow may beinclined rearwardly instead of forwardly without projecting the point of attachment of the linkthereto any faither in front of i said main bow than before. In this construction'the forward long link 17, instead of being straight its ends respectively bent downwardly, thereby permitting it to fold more compactly alongside link 16, when the top is collapsed.

In each of the foregoing constructions, I find it desirable to utilize a stop, such as a lug 18 on arm 8., just forwardly of the pivotal connection of supplemental how 10 with said .a-rm, whereby the position of said bow is determined when the to is extended. A stop 19 (see Figs. 4 and 4: between the equalizer member and one, .of the long links may also be employed if deSired.

The mode of operation of my improved top is sufliciently illustrated by the showing in Fig. 1 in connection with the first form, where the latter is illustrated in folded position in dotted outline. Thus, by pulling down on the joint 9 between the side arm 8 and outrigger bow 7, such joint will obviously be broken, and as the side arm drops into parallel relation with the main bow l, the interconnected links cause the outrigger bow to fold up against such side arm and into similar parallel relation with the main bow. Simultaneously of course the supplemental bow 10 is folded in between said outrigger bow and main bow, its movement occurring in unison with that of'the outrigger bow, so that the portions of the cover material 5 between it and said outrigger bow and main bow, respectively, will be given an opportunity to drop into neat folds between such bows.

As the folding operation proceeds, the intermediate link 11, which is free to swing about its connection with said supplementa bow, will gradually assume the position shown in dotted outline or a position approximating the one thus illustrated, a characteristic of this member being that its final position in the folded condition of the top may vary within certain limits without affecting in the slightest such folding operation or the compactness of the parts in their collapsed condition. In other words, in assembling my present improved top, the links in question, after being previously connected together, may be riveted or bolted to the bows disposed in proper extended position, holes being previously drilled for the purpose, no fitting or trying being necessary in order to insure the proper correlation of links and bows in the folding operation. The intermediate link or equalizer bar, it will be seen, operates to automatically take care of any slight inaccuracies in the bow assembly, as well as any slight displacement of the bows such as is apt to occur incidentally to the attaching of the cover material thereto. A great deal of difiiculty has been experienced in this latter connection with the various types of one man top at present on the market, in that the trimmer, in order to properly tension the top covering, is apt to place the one side of the supporting framework under a greater strain than the other, with the result that binding inevitably occurs when the structure is folded or collapsed. However, the intermediate link or equalizer bar of the present construction has been found to act freely under all conditions, and imparts a desirable degree of flexibility to the structure.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, pro-.

vided the means stated by any of the fol lowing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention 1. In a top for vehicles and thelike, the

combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear'portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; and three links directly pivotally connected together, the intermediate link being pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and the other two links being respectively pivotally attached to said main bow and to said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein.

2. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotallyconnected to said mainbow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to V such rear portion of said outrigger bow;

and three links directly pivotally connected together, the intermediate link being shorter than the other two and pivotally attached at its midpoint to said supplemental bow and such other links being respectively pivotally attached at their outer ends to said main bow and to said outrigger-bow beyond the joint therein. I

3. In a top for vehicles andthe like,the combination of a main bow; atwo-part articulated out-rigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said man bow a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; three links directly pivotally connected together, the intermediate link being pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and the other two links being respectively pivotally attached to said main bow and to said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein; and a stop adapted to determine the position of said supplemental. loow when the top is extended.

4. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally con nected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; three links directly pivotally connected together, the intermediate link being pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and the other two links being respec tively pivotally attached to said main bow and to said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein; and a stop on such rear portion of said outrigger bow adapted to engage with said supplemental bow and determine its articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; and three links directly pivotally connected together,- the intermediate link being pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and the other two links being respectively pivotally attached to said main bow and to said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein, the point of connection between the forward and intermediate links lying below a line through the points of connection of said forward link and said outrigger bow and between the rear link vand said main bow when the topis extended.

:6. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; andthree links directly pivotally conv rigger bow nected together, the intermediate link being in the form of a bell-crank pivotally at- 'tached to said supplemental bow and such other links being respectively pivotally attached to said mainbow. and to said outbeyond the'joint therein. i

'7. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pi'votally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion ofsaid outrigger bow; a member pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and serving as an equalizer; and rigid members flexibly connecting said member with said main bow and with said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein, respectively. p

8. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; a member in the form of a bell-crank pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and serving as an equalizer; and members flexibly connecting the arms of said member with said main bow and with said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein, respectively. 9. In a top for vehicles and the like, the combination of a main bow; a two-part articulated outrigger bow having its rear portion pivotally connected to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally connected to such rear portion of said outrigger bow; a member in the form of a bell-crank pivotally attached to said supplemental bow and serving as an equalizer; and links flexibly connecting the arms of said member with said main bow and with said outrigger bow beyond the joint therein, respectively. 1 Signed by me, this 28 day of September,

FREDERICK K. Ln'wrs. 

